Think about it: Directed Thor, a Disney property which was good and successful. Has a bit more a polished theater background, and can bring gravitas to the movie. Also, was a Shakespearean actor, which many of the actors in the original trilogy had started as.

I'd like to see someone like Nicolas Refn get a shot, even though he doesn't have a background in explosion pron. What made the original trilogy good is that was, at heart, a character driven plot ... well, at least Episode IV and V.

All because Winona Ryder was (at hour 11:59) too "ill" to film (but not too "ill" to almost immediately begin shooting Edward Scissorhands with her then-lifemate J. Depp.)

Personally, I think she made the right choice. (And, apparently she didn't piss off Big Papa Coppola as she did his Dracula film as a mea culpa.)

I don't know, if you replace Sophia with Winona, GF III would have been up there with the first two. That's how bad Sophia was in that role. She managed to make a potential top 100 film completely forgettable and regrettable.